Forbidden Fruit
Good Organic Gardening|September - October 2019

ADAM AND EVE WORE FIG LEAVES AND THE BUDDHA SAT UNDER AN ANCIENT FIG TREE — BUT THE FRUIT IS LEGENDARY AS WELL

Jennifer Stackhouse
Forbidden Fruit

Figs have a double harvest as they produce two crops a year. The main crop forms in summer and ripens in autumn. The second crop, known as the breba, grows in spring and ripens in summer.

While two crops are a bonus, it is that delicious flavor that comes with biting into a ripe fig harvested fresh from the garden that reminds you why this is the ideal backyard fruit tree. The sweetest figs are the ones bursting out of their skins and you’ll never find those in the shops.

Left to grow, the fig grows into a large and handsome shade tree reaching 6m tall and 4m wide. If this sounds bigger than expected (and it is very large if you intend to net the tree), control its size by pruning it in winter when the tree is bare and the crop has been harvested.

Figs can tolerate a hard prune if the tree has grown out of control. Winter pruning also encourages new growth, which provides lots of fruit. Some gardeners also control the root spread by digging around the tree at the edge of the canopy (the point known as the dripline).

BEST CLIMATE

We have a huge fig in our cold-climate garden. It’s in a warm microclimate well sheltered from cold winds and benefits from the overflow of water from our house tanks. It’s so big we stand on top of the concrete tanks to reach the ripe fruit at the top.

While the breba crop is usually abundant and delicious in spring, the main crop always fails to ripen as the cold weather arrives too quickly. Every year I have high hopes it will get there, but it always stays green and eventually falls to the ground with the cold weather. Even the birds seem disappointed.

Denne historien er fra September - October 2019-utgaven av Good Organic Gardening.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September - October 2019-utgaven av Good Organic Gardening.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA GOOD ORGANIC GARDENINGSe alt
Glamour girls
Good Organic Gardening

Glamour girls

EVERYONE LOVES A HARDWORKING ISA BROWN BUT GET A LOAD OF THESE CHIC CHICKENS AND FEATHERED FASHIONISTAS

time-read
5 mins  |
Good Organic Gardening 12.5
FRIED VEG
Good Organic Gardening

FRIED VEG

IT’S POSSIBLE TO ENJOY A FRY-UP IN A DELICIOUSLY HEALTHY WAY BY TURNING TO SOME FRY-FRIENDLY PLANTS

time-read
4 mins  |
Good Organic Gardening 12.5
BEYOND BIG RED
Good Organic Gardening

BEYOND BIG RED

TOMATOES COME IN ALL SHAPES, SIZES AND COLOURS, SO NOW’S THE TIME TO EXPLORE THEIR INFINITE VARIETY

time-read
4 mins  |
Good Organic Gardening 12.5
EVEN MORE TROPPO
Good Organic Gardening

EVEN MORE TROPPO

ANOTHER SENSATIONAL SIX TO CONSIDER FOR YOUR GARDEN — OR YOUR FRUIT SALAD

time-read
5 mins  |
Good Organic Gardening 12.5
LET'S STALK RHUBARB
Good Organic Gardening

LET'S STALK RHUBARB

JUST AS TOMATO IS A FRUIT USED AS A VEGETABLE, RHUBARB IS A VEGETABLE COMMONLY CONSUMED AS A DESSERT

time-read
5 mins  |
Good Organic Gardening 12.5
FOOD OF THE GODS
Good Organic Gardening

FOOD OF THE GODS

THE FLESHY FRUIT OF THE FICUS WAS MUHAMMAD’S FAVOURITE AND BUDDHA FOUND ENLIGHTENMENT UNDER A FIG TREE

time-read
5 mins  |
Good Organic Gardening 12.5
MAKING GOOD BETTER
Good Organic Gardening

MAKING GOOD BETTER

THE IRREPRESSIBLE TV PRESENTER WRITES ABOUT HOW SHE, WITH HUSBAND ANTON AND DAUGHTER FRIDA, TURNED A STEEP HOBART BLOCK INTO A PRODUCTIVE GARDEN

time-read
7 mins  |
Good Organic Gardening 12.5
True lily
Good Organic Gardening

True lily

MANY PLANTS ARE CALLED LILIES BUT IT’S THE MEMBERS OF THE GENUS LILIUM THAT ARE THE REAL DEAL

time-read
5 mins  |
Good Organic Gardening 12.5
SALTY BUDS
Good Organic Gardening

SALTY BUDS

THE CAPER BUSH PRODUCES TWO DISTINCT BUT EQUALLY DELICIOUS, TANGY MORSELS: CAPERS AND CAPERBERRIES

time-read
5 mins  |
Good Organic Gardening 12.5
Ducks on duty
Good Organic Gardening

Ducks on duty

BUSY, VIGILANT, HARD ON GARDEN PESTS AND GENEROUS LAYERS — YOU’VE GOTTA LOVE A DUCK!

time-read
5 mins  |
Good Organic Gardening 12.4